Sign of Spring?

Went out for a long hike today, and considering how dry things have been in the foothills this winter, I was a little surprised to find a few (very few) wildflowers.
I came upon this about 6.5 miles into my hike and whipped out my little Sony P&S to get a few shots when the butterfly landed on it. This is a little cropped and processed, but not much else. I don't know if it works with all the flowers, or if I should crop it to just the flower with the butterfly, or if it doesn't work at all...

Yep, a sure sign. Seen a few of these popping up here and there on my hikes too. I think it works fine with all the flowers. They provide a nice curving line of increasing size leading right to the main attraction.

I actually saw some golden banner patches on the road between Colorado Ave. and High Point in Garden of the Gods this afternoon. Some of the trees east of the main formations are just starting to leaf out, but the cottonwoods and scrub oak still need another week or more to get going. The steady rain a few days ago surely helped. Hopefully the pattern will repeat this week.

What Steve said. The shadow defining the lower flower's edges works well.

Pasque flowers! Nice examples of this early-blooming species too and the butterfly is a great addition. Definitely a good sign of spring.

Thanks everyone...
Todd, what's really interesting (although not unusual, I guess), is how far ahead Pueblo is over Colorado Springs. Most of the trees have color, and lots of flowers popping up. My guess is that Pueblo is a good two weeks ahead of the Springs.

Spring? Heck its summer green in Texas. There are a few wildflowers still but its very dry. You probably saw the fires on the news.

Already ready for fall......